chaos (science)

"Twelve-year-olds Oliver Beane and Frankie Figge are starting middle school in their suburban town of Lake Grove Glen, but from the beginning things seem a little weird, starting with the mysterious girl Matilda Sandoval who seems to know a lot about the boys, and continuing with a series of apparently random events that may not be random at all; somehow it all leads back to Preston Oglethorpe, a former student genius at their school who won the Nobel prize in Physics for his work in applied chaos theory at twenty-eight, and then mysteriously disappeared--and if the boys (and Matilda) can just connect the dots maybe they can figure out who or what is manipulating their lives, and why"--Provided by publisher.

Presents an introduction to the chaos theory, and argues that even simple systems that obey precise laws can still act in a chaotic manner.

Examines patterns, relations, and interactions present in nature's disorder and wildness.

A discussion of a new scientific theory, formed with the help of computers, which proposes the possibility of patterns and order in the chaos and unpredictability of both nature and also human aspects of the world.

Provides information about the connections between chaotic dynamics and the mathematical concept of symmetry, and includes a series of mathematically-generated computer images that link symmetry and chaos.

Text and cartoon illustrations introduce chaos theory, which explains randomness in predictable physical systems, and discusses known examples, such as the fluctuation in animal populations, variations in the stock market, and other related topics.

Discusses interdisciplinary research and the results of using scientific theories for non-scientific research such as when anthropologists or family therapists use the chaos theory to inspire changes within their disciplines.

Introduces the concepts driving the new science of complexity and the geometry of fractals, including examples and applications of these concepts.

Describes the scientific insights of scientists Lorenz, Feigenbaum, and Mandelbrot whose ideas led to the new science of chaos.